Jason Allen was Director of Brand Colour Intelligence at boutique branding firm, Haft2, as well as a member of global forecasting agency Color Marketing Group before refocusing and beginning life again as a freelance writer and blogger. He now devotes his time to his own blog, jasonallen.ca, where he writes about life and work, from his past and present. Jason currently lives in Toronto and retains his lifelong dream of naming colours for a living one day.

So why do companies choose the colours they do for their logos? Why aren't all logos merely colours we like? Blues and reds, maybe some purple ones here and there. It's because the colour of a logo needs to do so much more than merely appeal to our tastes. A logo colour has to help represent a brand the promise it makes. In this series, I'll examine several colours, and delve into why they're selected for the logos that they are. There's a reason for each and every one of them. This is the Branded Spectrum.

By Jason Allen: Without being prompted, it's hard to think of many logos that are yellow, isn't it? It's an unusual colour in the branding world because yellow's inherent qualities – joy, warmth, cheer, caution – aren't usually qualities we…...

By Jason Allen: What's up with orange? Of all the colours, it's one of the least popular when it comes to logos. Why is that? Why the bad rap for this gorgeous sunny colour? Adjectives about orange that might come…...

By Jason Allen Of all the colours in the spectrum, when it comes to logos, the most formidable player is blue. One third of the world's top 100 brands have blue logos. That's a lot of blue in the marketplace…...

By Jason Allen One colour for logos that's seen a huge resurgence in the last two decades is green. It's a colour that's a bit more specific in regards to what it can convey, with attributes like health, freshness, renewal…...

We start this series by looking into one of the basics – black. Why do some companies select black as the main colour for their logo? If you Google the attributes that are associated with black, you get a list…...

By Jason Allen Take a second and think about where you do your banking. Go ahead. I'll wait. There. I'll bet you thought about your bank's logo just now. There was a time not so long ago when, if I'd…...

Few logos receive the scrutiny that an Olympic logo does. Released five years in advance of its respective games, an Olympic logo is the first visual glance the world gets at an Olympiad. It needs to weave together story, culture,…...

Color Objects encourages you to get a better eye and appreciation for colors and characters. To get a special selection of pics and info for you, we find designers and artists that make colorful work from all over the world. There's a lot of character in colors, and having a closer look will change your view of the world and people around you. So we share a host of pics and info from design, art, cultures and the natural world. All about colors.